yes, or better

This is out of a bulletin from Perimeter I saved and stuck in my (old) journal. I think God kept it there until He knew I most needed it...

"Janis Joplin once wrote a song, 'O Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz, my friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends. Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends, so Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?' Creative prayer lyrics, but not prone to be answered in the affirmative. Questions about prayer abound. What should I pray for? Why are my prayers not answered? How come I never have a desire to pray? ...

Some people ask, 'If God knows everything and will accomplish what He wants, why should we pray?' Good question. Have you ever thought that part of his plan requires prayer? It is not the initial cause of His actions, but because of His character, He has to respond. He does not have a 'Nobody Home' sign on the door. He will answer one of two ways to the person who calls on Him in faith: Yes or Better. Those are the two options. Paul tells the Romans that God 'works all things together for good to those who love God.' If that is you, your prayers will be Yes or Better. Our challenge is seeing that if the answer is not yes, it is better. Jesus says He is not going to give us a stone if we ask for bread. He will do right by us. By His perfect knowledge of what is best for us, He will direct and that is good. His character dictates that He loves His people and that He does right by them for His glory.

So we encourage you to pray. Start with some Adoration. Then maybe a little Confession. One of our elders says, 'How about we pray for God to reveal our sin to us, so that we can run to Him?' If we pray that prayer, He will answer. Move along to some Thanksgiving. We all can park there for awhile. Then you may want to wind up with Supplication or asking for what you think has value. Be encouraged that God will say Yes or Better. CS Lewis once said that he was glad God had not answered yes to many of his prayers. God had 'better' in mind and over time Lewis could look back and see that was indeed the case..."